Post about "Education"

How to Choose a B2B Site?

On the Internet, B2B (business-to-business), also known as e-biz, is the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers. How to Choose a B2B site? Here are a few tips:

1 – Website traffic

Here you must consider 2 issues. First, how popular is the B2B site worldwide. (For example: tradetuber.com. You can Search Alexa.com to find website popularity). B2B websites ranked in the top 100,000 of all websites may be worthwhile. Lower ranked trade sites are either old and not worth your time or new and not worth your effort.

Next, how much traffic do they get from your primary market? For example, many B2B websites in China are very popular there, but they get very little traffic from America and Europe. If you are looking for buyers from these markets, then a popular B2B site in China will not be very effective.

Using Alexa.com, you can view country popularity lower on the page below the statistics tables. Check what percentage of users are in USA (or other markets) and what is the popularity rank in the country you are most interested to market to?

2- Directory Information

All B2B sites list companies in an online directory. However, you need to be concerned with B2B sites that simply buy lists to build their directory. On those sites – of which there are many – companies often don’t even know they are listed. In addition, company information is generally not updated.

The result of this is that you can spend time sending messages to companies and the response will be very low because the info is old, or the receiver doesn’t even know log in information.

At Importers.com, all directory listings have been created by company representatives. We have never purchased a list of companies and added to our directory. Moreover, we rank companies according to their online activity. Most active Free Members rank higher than others.

3 – Online promotion

The final consideration for evaluating a B2B site is to determine what kind of promotion you will receive. In this regard, all trade sites promote paid members more than free members. The question is, will you get strong enough promotion for it to be worth the membership fees?

It is worthwhile to join and be a free member of the leading B2B sites. In fact, it is a great way to evaluate which site provides the most qualified inquiries. However, creating simple accounts with poor information on free B2B sites actually hurts your company more than it helps it.

Whatever information your company has online, make sure it is detailed and professional. Anything less is a sales killer!

It is worthwhile to upgrade your membership at a B2B site that has active buyers of your products and will provide strong promotion for your products. For example, Alibaba is a great B2B site for Chinese companies – but in fact, suppliers from other countries are buried in search results below their “Gold Suppliers” – which are all from China. So, while the site is very popular, it does not provide strong promotion for traders outside of China.

4 – Site Evaluation

China Suppliers: To evaluate a B2B site, search the directory and contact buyers that may be interested in your products. Be sure you have a detailed company profile and good products details. Then, see what kind of response you get. If you receive a number of positive replies, consider upgrading to get more promotion on the site.

China buyers: most buyers don’t want hundreds of suppliers, they just want 1 or 2 good ones. So, consider what happens when you post a BUY lead. Does it get sent to thousands of companies – who then flood your inbox with all kinds of useless messages? Good B2B sites – like Importers.com – provide buyer services to help identify qualified suppliers. Rather than blasting your BUY lead to thousands, they select the most qualified suppliers and provide sourcing services to help you make a buy decision.

Considering the information above, here are the B2B websites that TradeStaff recommend. It is worthwhile for most companies to have a Free Member account at each of these. However, the B2B sites may not be best for your company and may not provide the best results when you upgrade membership. Be sure to do your own evaluation.

In conclusion, it is worthwhile to have a free membership at the leading B2B sites. However, at each site your company belongs to, be sure your information is detailed and professional. Buyers will Google your company name and if the information they find is not professional, you run the risk of losing their interest.

All B2B sites offer paid promotion – through membership and/or advertising. For most suppliers, it is worthwhile to upgrade at 1 or 2 sites that have active members in your target market, that provide strong online promotion, and that have proven effective in attracting buyer inquiries for your products.

Home Based Business – Do Your Risk Management

Risk management with a home based business can prevent future damages to you and your finances. Risks in business can bring it to an abrupt halt. Risk management is a process where you can examine policies, procedures and operations to -o Identify the assets which are at risk like the name of the business, space etc.
o Predict what adverse event might occur and affect your business. Determining what could go wrong with the assets by risk assessment will certainly help you to identify which of the assets to insure.
o Determine how you will treat the risk and formulate a plan addressing each risk separately.
o Implement the plan which includes purchasing insurance coverage, training, tightening safety rules or changing deductibles.
o Monitor the results constantly. It will give you the ability to foresee the potential risks.It is very essential in a home based business to understand the various risks and its potential impacts on the business in order to mange it effectively.Preference of customers:The product or service you offer to the customer should be related to their preferences. You should upgrade your products so that they benefit the customers who will in turn build a long-term relationship with your company. Focusing on customer wants and needs will help minimize the risks.Alternate products:Being dependent on a single product or service for revenue is risky. When the market evaporates, you do not want to be left holding the bag. Based on market research, evaluation and developing new marketing concepts for your products and alternative products can help you maximize sales and also increase the interest of your customers.Build new clients:Your home based business depends on the goodwill of your product in the eyes of the customers, but if your business is closely linked only on a limited customer base, it is risky. If the customer base shifts, you will lose business. Therefore, you should build new clients and increase your growth prospects.Develop new channels:You need to have alternative suppliers and distribution channels for your products and services. Dependency on the key suppliers can expose the entity to risk if the supplier is unable to deliver your hottest selling product.Cultivating good relationships will help in long-term business. Payment strategies and set dates for payment will help avoid disillusionment between the parties. Although debt allows companies to grow, it should be limited to serviceable levels, as too much debt is dangerous.Financial planning:Proper financial planning can minimize the risk in a home based business. Right from the start of the business, cash flow highlights the potential risks. Expansion of business should be undertaken through a proper plan of financial resources, otherwise too much growth without finance and skill to keep pace, could lead to bankruptcy.Maintain standards:Maintaining the brand awareness builds reputation, which must be adhered to constantly. Proper standard and quality helps deliver value for the money. Customers want quality and a product that benefits them.In order to be effective and successful in your business you need to manage risks. Thinking, knowing and doing helps you in a never ending cycle of focusing, productivity and risk management in a home based business.

Starting a Home Based Business Can Be a Fun and Also Very Rewarding Experience

The need to make a lot of money helps to motivate many of us into starting a home based business. Not having to be a faceless person that is part of the grind of the daily rat race is another reason why it might pay to become a home entrepreneur. Before getting into the habit of making a living out of your home business venture it is of course necessary that you learn just what does it take to succeed in such a venture. Therefore, before starting a home based business you need to strategize in a way that ensures that you have a realistic chance of achieving your goal.Don’t Fail To Plan AheadMost businesses, home based and otherwise, generally fail because the entrepreneurs failed to plan their activities in advance and so it is necessary that you learn how not to repeat those mistakes when starting a home based business. You need to understand how you too can succeed with your home business and the first question that you need a good answer to is ‘just why you want to start a home based business’.Unless you know the reason behind why you should be starting a home based business you will not be able to build a strong foundation for the future and so you need to answer a few more questions to get things clarified. For example, are you starting a home based business to work the hours that suit you the best; or, is it to be your own boss and if so, why? Furthermore, is the home business your passport to increased earnings and finally, just how well prepared are you to start the business.The most important issue that requires a solid answer before starting a home based business is how well prepared are you for your new business venture. This of course means that you must already be confident in your abilities to face and overcome the many challenges that you will need to face including having to handle multiple tasks at the same time. That in turn means being prepared to put up with the stresses and strains of starting a home based business; so, you must be in good physical and mental shape.Next, you have to be sure that you are indeed well prepared and determined to put in as many hours as are required in order to succeed in your home business. What’s more, you should also have some outside support including from family members and from friends and you also need to be prepared to make sacrifices including accepting a lower standard of living till such time as your home business takes off and flourishes.To succeed in your home business you need to possess experience as well as have the necessary skills and these are important issues that you need to address before starting a home based business. That in turn means ensuring that you already have the experience in your chosen business field and you also need to be a person that can take correct and effective decisions and in double quick time as well. You have to learn to absorb new things so that you can improve your existing skills and also learn new ones as you go along.Before starting a home based business you must also be aware about your exact financial position so that before you get your home business going your pockets are stuffer with enough money to become a home business person. In addition, it is also necessary to have sufficient cash to operate your home business.As long as you address these issues properly and earnestly starting a home based business can prove to be a fun experience and one that will help you get off on the right foot and then achieve your goals.